In which our heroine, having defeated the three-headed demon of supercomputing, optimization, and ill-posed problems in her quest for the elusive Ph.D., embarks upon her new career.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Pre-5K 5K

Yesterday morning, as part of my workplace's "health month" festivities, they held a 5K event. I decided to participate as a preview for what it would be like to run in the 5K race next weekend.

I knew immediately upon arrival that I would be smart to start just in front of the walkers, but at the very back of the runners group. Soon after the run began, the packs formed: actual runners at the very front, followed by a long, empty distance; me (and my colleague/coach, who graciously ran at my pace), followed by a shorter empty distance; and the walkers bringing up the rear.

My fearless coach told me to run as far as I could, then she'd let me walk for a certain amount of time before running again, then walk a short time, run, etc. I managed to run the entire first mile of it. For the rest of the course, I would run until I was really tired, then tell her something like, "I'm going to stop running at that shadow," and she would try and talk me into running a little bit farther ("If you run to that crosswalk, that will make three minutes of running."). This usually worked. At one point there was a photographer, and as we approached him she told me to run so that he would have a good picture to take!

The thing I enjoyed the most about our run was that we had the run of the road because the police had blocked off the course. It was cool to be so important that the road was cleared and you didn't have to watch for cars.

I finished the 5K run in 33 minutes and 36 seconds, the fastest I've ever covered three miles under my own power and without the aid of simple machines. (I was going to say engineering, but the flat, paved surface of the road is engineered, and furthermore, I suspect that my shoes and sports bra would be considered engineered devices.) That means I did roughly an 11-minute mile, which is pretty darn amazing in my book!

Disclaimer

The events described in this blog are fictitious. Any similarity to any person living or dead is merely coincidental. The opinions expressed herein are my own, and do not reflect those of my (fictitious?) employer.